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vtcyclist · January 10th, 2009, 11:30 AM

I read Clapton's bio a while back. Clapton mentions several of his instruments by "name", Brownie, Blackie, etc. And his home is named Hurtwood. This started me thinking, a dangerous thing I know.... I have a neighbor that has British roots. He names his cars, tractor, armored personnel carrier. Is this a British thing? I have a great friend in Tulsa that names his pickup trucks. He is not british. Sailors have named their boats forever. I never have named stuff.

After an inspiration yesterday I have named my Tele for my twang inspiration, Redd. And my Strat for my blues inspiration, Eric. For the first time ever, it seems appropriate to do so.

So, do you name your instruments? Cars? Children?

robt57 · January 10th, 2009, 11:35 AM

In a word, no.

I know this seems to be a popular practice, I wonder what % of folks do, per gitcapita?? ;)

Tuxedo · January 10th, 2009, 11:36 AM

I had a '57 Musicmaster with a beautiful, buttery neck I called Margarine or Margie.

Fatmanstratman · January 10th, 2009, 11:38 AM

This one hasn't popped up for a while, so you may not have seen it before.

It has been discussed at length a few times, and from memory I recall that we seem to have almost a 50/50 split between those who DO name their guitars and those who don't.

Might be worth using the good old "search" function?

sunkidd · January 10th, 2009, 11:44 AM

No... but about a year ago I went over to my friends house who plays guitar with me in our band...
I was stopping by to see if he wanted to go check out a guitar I was interested in buying from a local guy...
He and his girlfriend were there at his house, so I ask him if he wants to go with me to look at a "Firebird" I was thinkin' about.... he and his girlfriend looked at me kinda strange....
They were wondering why I'd want a Pontiac?

byrdbrain · January 10th, 2009, 11:52 AM

Mine are called "I Swear I Could Do This Yesterday"
and "Who Moved the Frets?"

mellecaster · January 10th, 2009, 12:33 PM

I don't name them all...but I do carry on conversations w/ all of them...and wish them well, when they start their journey to a Happy Customer....

vtcyclist · January 10th, 2009, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

Might be worth using the good old "search" function?

Funny you should say this. Becaused I searched on:

Naming Instruments
Name Guitars
"Do you name your Guitars"
"Naming Guitars"
amoung several other terms and phrases.

And "search" returned either 8 bazillion pages of posts that had one or more of the words or nothing because I did not exactly match phraseology someone else used.

his dudeness · January 10th, 2009, 12:36 PM

no names, i generally refer to them by their brand name, or occasionally by the model.

Fatmanstratman · January 10th, 2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtcyclist

As I started my thread I knew that I would be told to use search, but decided to press on none-the-less. I guess if we never ever repeated any questions or discussions most forums would not be so, eh?

Wow!...

Well, I tried to help by recalling what had been said before. I did NOT "tell you to use search" - I simply suggested that it (and I quote) "Might be worth using the good old 'search' function?" (note the question mark at the end?).

I never suggested that previous questions shouldn't be repeated - I simply tried to help! I was a newbie here once, y'know.....

Relax a little - if you jump down everyone's throat when they try to be helpful, you might find that folks aren't so keen to help next time....

Fatmanstratman · January 10th, 2009, 12:50 PM

OK - I notice that you have edited your post to remove those words whilst I was posting - I guess you thought better of it.

No problem. I'm glad that you saw the potential for creating ill-feeling, which we really don't need here on the TDPRI.

Thanks for editing your post...

graphs · January 10th, 2009, 12:53 PM

I don't name my guitars, if I need to reference one I just refer to it by model.

TG · January 10th, 2009, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtcyclist

Funny you should say this. Becaused I searched on:

Naming Instruments
Name Guitars
"Do you name your Guitars"
"Naming Guitars"
amoung several other terms and phrases.

And "search" returned either 8 bazillion pages of posts that had one or more of the words or nothing because I did not exactly match phraseology someone else used.

I've found the same thing often when I search. You could spend hours slogging thru webpages before finding the answer to a query.
Often far easier to start a new thread.

bowlfreshener · January 10th, 2009, 12:56 PM

Yes, I do, probably because I have no pets or kids, and I find its helps me realize I may have too many guitars (17) when I can't remember all their names at various times...

TG · January 10th, 2009, 12:57 PM

(And, no, I don't name my guitars.)

PaisleyIsGod · January 10th, 2009, 12:57 PM

My girlfriend gave me a guitar to mod, upgrade and refinish, and I put her name on the headstock as a decal. I guess I don't really refer to it by that name though.

robbysturgis · January 10th, 2009, 01:16 PM

No name is authenticated without a certified birth certificate.

vtcyclist · January 10th, 2009, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

Wow!...

Yikes, you caught me. Yep, I was being mean and there is no place for that. Sorry you saw it. Peace.

Fatmanstratman · January 10th, 2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtcyclist

Yikes, you caught me. Yep, I was being mean and there is no place for that. Sorry you saw it. Peace.

No problem!...

stevieboy · January 10th, 2009, 01:32 PM

Are "brownie" and "blackie" really names, or just convenient descriptions, for the sake of easy communication with techs, etc.?

I don't name anything I might sell--or eat.

Tuxedo · January 10th, 2009, 01:37 PM

Lucille and Virginia are really good celeb guitars.

Tim Armstrong · January 10th, 2009, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

This one hasn't popped up for a while, so you may not have seen it before.

It has been discussed at length a few times, and from memory I recall that we seem to have almost a 50/50 split between those who DO name their guitars and those who don't.

Might be worth using the good old "search" function?

There's a fine line we walk between encouraging current conversation and not repeating stuff ad nauseum. Like a few days ago, when someone started a "are Tele's harder to play?" thread a week after an identical thread had just petered out (I went ahead and merged the threads!).

At the same time, it's actually kind of frowned upon to dig up an old thread and post on the end of it, since most folks don't actually notice that they're responding to a post from the distant past (and I'd say that anything older than six months would qualify!). We often remove such posts and let the threads drop back down into the murk, and ask the poster to go ahead and start a new thread...

It's not like he was posting an "I don't get relics" thread!!!!

Tim

maestrovert · January 10th, 2009, 01:48 PM

yes, i name mine according to their colours or features:
Ol' Blue, Greenmeanie, Flag, Whitey, Ebony etc etc

Fatmanstratman · January 10th, 2009, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevieboy

Are "brownie" and "blackie" really names, or just convenient descriptions, for the sake of easy communication with techs, etc.?

IIRC, when we discussed this before a lot of folks responded by saying that they named their guitars "The Red One" or "The Butterscotch One" etc. Similarly, as I try to keep examples of different types of Telecasters, I might refer to mine as "The MIA", "The 50s Classic", "The 69 Thinline" etc. I suppose that's no different to "The 335", "The Sheraton" or "The Ric 360"....

Like you say, convenient descriptions rather than "names".

photoweborama · January 10th, 2009, 01:52 PM

Yes, I name them....
I call one "The Strat", the other one "The Tele", the other one "The Les Paul", and the other one "The Kramer"....

Well, I guess, technically I did not really name them, Leo, Les, and Gary Kramer really did...

vtcyclist · January 10th, 2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

It's not like he was posting an "I don't get relics" thread!!!!

Tim

And it is doubley good I did not ask if it was ok to relic a new Fender logo when naming a homebuilt guitar.

DustyDave · January 10th, 2009, 01:56 PM

I don't usually, but I have named my tele "Mez". Got the idea from the MZ at the beginning of the serial number.

stevieboy · January 10th, 2009, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatmanstratman

Like you say, convenient descriptions rather than "names".

I'm not asserting that what I say is true though, I don't claim to know how Clapton thought of it--I'm just raising the question.

Stickyfingers · January 10th, 2009, 02:01 PM

I name them based on how the session is proceeding at the moment........

bobbyg · January 10th, 2009, 02:56 PM

I do not use specific names just my tele, my strat, my D 28, my D 18 etc.

Worn · January 10th, 2009, 03:06 PM

Yes, names like "Expensive", "Disappointing", "For Sale", "Keeper", (Pawn Shop) "Rescue" etc

Twangthang · January 10th, 2009, 03:18 PM

I bought a Squier CV and it came with a nasty chip (no extra charge)... My wife said I should name it "Chip"...

Lathem · January 10th, 2009, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtcyclist

So, do you name your instruments? Cars? Children?

Yes:

Gibson, Tele, Big Martin, Little Martin, Big Banjo, Little Banjo, Mandolin, and Banjo Uke. My amps are named Fender and Pignose.

I named my car "Truck" and my wife's "Volvo."

We chose not to name our children.

kingofdogs1950 · January 10th, 2009, 03:33 PM

It started life as a Muddy Waters so....

Mark

xjazzy · January 10th, 2009, 03:43 PM

I just call them by they brand or model name:
The tele (now I have another tele this is the Classic), the CV, the LP, the SX, the Strat, the Godin, the APX...

HOBBSTER01 · January 10th, 2009, 04:02 PM

Yes.
This is "Ruthie" named for my mom who bought her for me just before she passed away.
I had to sell her when I lost my job but my friend says I can always buy her back when I get financially able.(My father-in-law has already bought her back for me but I'm not supposed to know.B-day in APR.)

ba614 · January 10th, 2009, 04:29 PM

I have 8 guitars. I bought 7 of them and my parents gave one of them to me when I was 12 yrs.old. I have never sold or traded a gutiar. Only 1 of them has a name. I walked in a guitar store that I had never seen before and a guitar called to me from high on the wall. I never heard of the brand name and I didn't even try it out I just ask the guy a the counter how much it was and bought it on the spot. I took it home and it played so good it was like Magic. That's the name of this guitar "Magic". Everyone in my family knows which guitar I talking about when I say Magic. I call the rest of them by the model name or color and nobody know which guitar I'm talking about unless it's "Magic".

"Magic" is a Honey Burst, G&L Legacy. I bought it in the early 90's. The only pic I have is with the rest of my collection.

Bill · January 10th, 2009, 05:12 PM

I've posted this before, but...

Just the one in my avatar on the left. A few years back, someone posted here about a refinished '52 Tele on consignment for $2000 at Elderly. I checked the link and it was exactly what I'd been looking for for years. I called and unfortunately it had just sold. However, the lady on the phone was really nice and suggested I keep calling back, since sometimes people return items.

I did, and after a week or two, it came back in because the buyer didn't like the idea that it wasn't all original. I bought it immediately, and since then, I always think of it as my "Lucky Day."

KevinB · January 10th, 2009, 05:31 PM

I'm a Brit but I don't name my guitars.

My wife and dog, well that's another matter

marantz1300 · January 10th, 2009, 06:40 PM

My ash Silo is called lulu after my daughter and my blue Silo is Gut ducky.

January 10th, 2009, 11:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
vtcyclist Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vermont Posts: 215	Do you name your instruments? I read Clapton's bio a while back. Clapton mentions several of his instruments by "name", Brownie, Blackie, etc. And his home is named Hurtwood. This started me thinking, a dangerous thing I know.... I have a neighbor that has British roots. He names his cars, tractor, armored personnel carrier. Is this a British thing? I have a great friend in Tulsa that names his pickup trucks. He is not british. Sailors have named their boats forever. I never have named stuff. After an inspiration yesterday I have named my Tele for my twang inspiration, Redd. And my Strat for my blues inspiration, Eric. For the first time ever, it seems appropriate to do so. So, do you name your instruments? Cars? Children?

January 10th, 2009, 11:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
robt57 Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Lost Yankee in Nashville Age: 52 Posts: 5,862 22 Photos	In a word, no. I know this seems to be a popular practice, I wonder what % of folks do, per gitcapita?? ;) __________________ Leo's Great, Leo's Good, let us thank him for our... Twang!

January 10th, 2009, 11:38 AM	#4 (permalink)
Fatmanstratman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fatmanville, Cambs., UK Posts: 3,589	This one hasn't popped up for a while, so you may not have seen it before. It has been discussed at length a few times, and from memory I recall that we seem to have almost a 50/50 split between those who DO name their guitars and those who don't. Might be worth using the good old "search" function? __________________ . . . *"Behind every argument is someone's ignorance."*

January 10th, 2009, 11:52 AM	#6 (permalink)
byrdbrain Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sweden Age: 51 Posts: 1,669 4 Photos	Mine are called "I Swear I Could Do This Yesterday" and "Who Moved the Frets?" __________________ In vino securitas

January 10th, 2009, 12:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
mellecaster VENDOR Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 7,653 17 Photos	I don't name them all...but I do carry on conversations w/ all of them...and wish them well, when they start their journey to a Happy Customer.... __________________ Expert Repair....ReCrafting...and Set-ups Making your World a Better Place...One Guitar at a time

January 10th, 2009, 11:36 AM	#3 (permalink)
Tuxedo Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 524	I had a '57 Musicmaster with a beautiful, buttery neck I called Margarine or Margie.

January 10th, 2009, 11:44 AM	#5 (permalink)
sunkidd Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 576	No... but about a year ago I went over to my friends house who plays guitar with me in our band... I was stopping by to see if he wanted to go check out a guitar I was interested in buying from a local guy... He and his girlfriend were there at his house, so I ask him if he wants to go with me to look at a "Firebird" I was thinkin' about.... he and his girlfriend looked at me kinda strange.... They were wondering why I'd want a Pontiac?

January 10th, 2009, 12:36 PM	#9 (permalink)
his dudeness Tele-Meister Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 21 Posts: 367	no names, i generally refer to them by their brand name, or occasionally by the model.

January 10th, 2009, 12:50 PM	#11 (permalink)
Fatmanstratman Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fatmanville, Cambs., UK Posts: 3,589	OK - I notice that you have edited your post to remove those words whilst I was posting - I guess you thought better of it. No problem. I'm glad that you saw the potential for creating ill-feeling, which we really don't need here on the TDPRI. Thanks for editing your post... __________________ . . . *"Behind every argument is someone's ignorance."*

January 10th, 2009, 12:53 PM	#12 (permalink)
graphs Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,763	I don't name my guitars, if I need to reference one I just refer to it by model.

January 10th, 2009, 12:56 PM	#14 (permalink)
bowlfreshener Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2007 Location: Virginia, USA Age: 34 Posts: 2,062 6 Photos	Yes, I do, probably because I have no pets or kids, and I find its helps me realize I may have too many guitars (17) when I can't remember all their names at various times... __________________ RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

January 10th, 2009, 12:57 PM	#15 (permalink)
TG Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Beside a bog in the west of Ireland Age: 48 Posts: 6,335 9 Photos	(And, no, I don't name my guitars.)

January 10th, 2009, 12:57 PM	#16 (permalink)
PaisleyIsGod Tele-Meister Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Halifax Age: 19 Posts: 236	My girlfriend gave me a guitar to mod, upgrade and refinish, and I put her name on the headstock as a decal. I guess I don't really refer to it by that name though.

January 10th, 2009, 01:16 PM	#17 (permalink)
robbysturgis Tele-Holic Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: fairfax Posts: 778 7 Photos	No name is authenticated without a certified birth certificate. __________________ In early '57, I bought a Fender Telecaster. ~ Johnny Rivers

January 10th, 2009, 01:32 PM	#20 (permalink)
stevieboy Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: the valley Age: 58 Posts: 3,386 6 Photos	Are "brownie" and "blackie" really names, or just convenient descriptions, for the sake of easy communication with techs, etc.? I don't name anything I might sell--or eat.

January 10th, 2009, 01:37 PM	#21 (permalink)
Tuxedo Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 524	Lucille and Virginia are really good celeb guitars.

January 10th, 2009, 01:48 PM	#23 (permalink)
maestrovert Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Somewhere over the rainbow Posts: 8,024	yes, i name mine according to their colours or features: Ol' Blue, Greenmeanie, Flag, Whitey, Ebony etc etc

January 10th, 2009, 01:52 PM	#25 (permalink)
photoweborama Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Age: 51 Posts: 1,797 15 Photos	Yes, I name them.... I call one "The Strat", the other one "The Tele", the other one "The Les Paul", and the other one "The Kramer".... Well, I guess, technically I did not really name them, Leo, Les, and Gary Kramer really did... __________________ Best guitar photos on the net! photoweborama.com!

January 10th, 2009, 01:56 PM	#27 (permalink)
DustyDave Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Santa Fe, NM Posts: 688 3 Photos	I don't usually, but I have named my tele "Mez". Got the idea from the MZ at the beginning of the serial number. __________________ "If it ain't broken, don't fix it."- my dad, the engineer.

January 10th, 2009, 02:01 PM	#29 (permalink)
Stickyfingers Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: near Dayton, Ohio Posts: 160 1 Photos	I name them based on how the session is proceeding at the moment........

January 10th, 2009, 02:56 PM	#30 (permalink)
bobbyg TDPRI Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: mount airy maryland Posts: 71	I do not use specific names just my tele, my strat, my D 28, my D 18 etc.

January 10th, 2009, 03:06 PM	#31 (permalink)
Worn Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Toronto Age: 57 Posts: 497 2 Photos	Yes, names like "Expensive", "Disappointing", "For Sale", "Keeper", (Pawn Shop) "Rescue" etc Last edited by Worn; January 10th, 2009 at 07:02 PM.

January 10th, 2009, 03:18 PM	#32 (permalink)
Twangthang Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Age: 44 Posts: 131	In a word no, but... I bought a Squier CV and it came with a nasty chip (no extra charge)... My wife said I should name it "Chip"...

January 10th, 2009, 03:33 PM	#34 (permalink)
kingofdogs1950 Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Austin Age: 59 Posts: 188	The Muddycaster It started life as a Muddy Waters so.... Mark

January 10th, 2009, 03:43 PM	#35 (permalink)
xjazzy Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Portugal Age: 29 Posts: 1,706 6 Photos	I just call them by they brand or model name: The tele (now I have another tele this is the Classic), the CV, the LP, the SX, the Strat, the Godin, the APX... __________________ Still got the Twang! myspace.com/jpmartins

2009 TDPRI Giveaway Winners List is available HERE

IMPORTANT:Treat everyone here with respect, no matter how difficult! No sex, drug, political, religion or hate discussion permitted here.

January 10th, 2009, 04:02 PM	#36 (permalink)
HOBBSTER01 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: North GA. Age: 47 Posts: 1,625 4 Photos	Yes. This is "Ruthie" named for my mom who bought her for me just before she passed away. I had to sell her when I lost my job but my friend says I can always buy her back when I get financially able.(My father-in-law has already bought her back for me but I'm not supposed to know.B-day in APR.) __________________ The Hobbster

January 10th, 2009, 04:29 PM	#37 (permalink)
ba614 Banned TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Jackson, Tennessee Age: 56 Posts: 45	I have 8 guitars. I bought 7 of them and my parents gave one of them to me when I was 12 yrs.old. I have never sold or traded a gutiar. Only 1 of them has a name. I walked in a guitar store that I had never seen before and a guitar called to me from high on the wall. I never heard of the brand name and I didn't even try it out I just ask the guy a the counter how much it was and bought it on the spot. I took it home and it played so good it was like Magic. That's the name of this guitar "Magic". Everyone in my family knows which guitar I talking about when I say Magic. I call the rest of them by the model name or color and nobody know which guitar I'm talking about unless it's "Magic". "Magic" is a Honey Burst, G&L Legacy. I bought it in the early 90's. The only pic I have is with the rest of my collection.

January 10th, 2009, 05:12 PM	#38 (permalink)
Bill Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bay Area, California Posts: 3,181 67 Photos	I've posted this before, but... Just the one in my avatar on the left. A few years back, someone posted here about a refinished '52 Tele on consignment for $2000 at Elderly. I checked the link and it was exactly what I'd been looking for for years. I called and unfortunately it had just sold. However, the lady on the phone was really nice and suggested I keep calling back, since sometimes people return items. I did, and after a week or two, it came back in because the buyer didn't like the idea that it wasn't all original. I bought it immediately, and since then, I always think of it as my "Lucky Day." __________________ B i l l B a e c k WilliamBaeck.com

January 10th, 2009, 05:31 PM	#39 (permalink)
KevinB Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,846 4 Photos	I'm a Brit but I don't name my guitars. My wife and dog, well that's another matter

January 10th, 2009, 06:40 PM	#40 (permalink)
marantz1300 Tele-Meister Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: london england Posts: 214	names My ash Silo is called lulu after my daughter and my blue Silo is Gut ducky.